Cal State Fullerton students experiencing hardships such as food or housing insecurity can now stop by a new center on campus for anything from a toothbrush to an interview outfit to temporary housing.
Tuffy’s Basic Needs Services Center opened Feb. 14 in Room 143 of McCarthy Hall.
The center promotes wellness and offers support — food assistance, short-term housing, hygiene products, professional clothing, emergency grant funds and off-campus social services — to enable students to complete their education.
“Students who face sudden crisis situations that cause basic-needs hardships will clearly struggle to meet academic expectations,” said Carmen Curiel, associate dean of students. “A center specifically intended to address these concerns and provide needed resources can help restore a student’s well-being and in turn result in educational achievement.”
Other area colleges have opened food pantries recently.
Tuffy’s Basic Needs Services Center is coordinated by the Dean of Students Office, supporting the CSU’s systemwide Basic Needs Initiative. A 2015 study by the chancellor’s office estimated that 8 to 12 percent of the system’s 460,000 students live in unstable housing conditions and that 21 to 24 percent lack regular access to food.
Resources offered at Tuffy’s Basic Needs Services Center:
- Food assistance in the form of gift cards to campus dining locations, donated meals at the Gastronome, Titan Bites messaging app, CalFresh Program, referrals to a full-service pantry near campus
- Emergency temporary housing for up to two weeks
- Hygiene products
- Gently used professional attire
- Financial support for unforeseen emergencies, crises or catastrophic events
For more information, visit the Dean of Students Office website or call 657-278-3211.